Grafting.



No. 7|3,949. v Patented Nov. I8, [902. J. B. BURRELL.

GBAFTING.

ucicion filed um. 24, 1902.

(No Model.)

Tm: n'cnms PETERS m. mumu'mou WASHINGTON. n. c

UNrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES BIRNEY BURRELL, OF WVRIGHTS, CALIFORNIA.

GRAFTING.

islECIFlGA'I'ION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 713.949, dated November 18, 1902.

Application filed March 24, 1902. Serial No. 99,570. Specimens-l To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BIRNEY BUR- RELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wrights, Santa Clara county, State of Cali- ;,fornia, have invented certain new and useful or joint to avoid displacement or separation.

These results it is the object of my invention to secure.

To these ends my process or method consists, first, in making in all the twigs, both stocks and scions, clefts of equal width separated by tongues of equal thickness, said thickness of the tongues being proportioned relatively to the width of the clefts as to permit the tongues to enter and to be held in the clefts-by the spring of the material, and, second, in fitting the tongues of one twig into the clefts of the other. My graft lock or joint, which is the result of this method or process, consists of interengaging clefts and tongues on the stock and scions, said clefts being of equal width and said tongues being of equal thickness, the thickness of the tongues being so proportioned relatively to the width of the clefts that the tongues fit and are held in the clefts with pressure due to the spring of the material.

In the accompanying drawings I illustrate the steps of my method and the resulting lock or joint.

Figure 1 shows the stock and scion separated and provided with three operative clefts and tongues. Fig. 2 shows the stock and scion of Fig. l fitted together to form the graft lock or joint. Fig. 3 shows the stock and scion separated and provided with two operative clefts and tongues. Fig. 4 shows the stock and scion of Fig. 3 fitted together to form the graft lock or joint. top plan view of thestock A.

Referring to Fig. 1, A is the stock. In the end of the stock, which has previously been cut crosswise, I make clefts a, hero shown as three in number. They are of equal width, and the tongues a, which separate them, are of equal thickness.

B is the scion, in which I make clefts b, which are equal in width to each other and are also equal in width to the clefts a of stock A. The tongues 12 of scion B are equal in thickness to each other and are also equal in thickness to the tongues a of stock A. The end of the scion in which these clefts and tongues are made has previously been out crosswise and said clefts and tongues are like those of the stock. In the scion B, Fig. 1, Ihave shown three tongues and three clefts, two of the clefts being perfect and the third being incomplete, because of cutting into the circumference. The thickness of the tongues I make so proportioned relatively to the width of the cleft-s that upon being fitted into the clefts they will be held therein by pressure due to the spring of the material. To secure this result, a substantial equality between the thickness of the tongue and width of cleft will suffice in many cases, because of the natural inaccuracies of practical cutting; but to insure the result I prefer to make the thickness of the tongues slightly in excess of the width of the clefts, but so Fig. 5 is a slightly that there will be no practical difficulty in forcing the two together. In any case,however, their relative proportions are such that the tongues in entering the clefts will force the cleft-walls to yield sufliciently to take advantage of the spring of the wood to hold the two together in close and tight contact.

In Fig. 2 I show the graft lock or joint of the stock A and scion 1:3 as formed. The tongues and clefts of the two twigs are intereugaged tightly and closely. Thus a very extensive,.close fitting, and tight graft lock or joint is formed. It will require no elastic wrapping to complete or maintain the close contact, for the lock is inherently close fitting on account of the spring of the material. The usual protection of the exposed surfaces from the weather is made by means of earth or wax, as the circumstances may call for.

In Fig. 3 I show a stock 0, previously cut crosswise, with two operative clefts c and tongues 0 and a scion D with two operative tongues d and two clefts 01, one of the latter intersecting the circumference. The lock formed by the engagement of these twigs is shown in Fig. 4 and presents extensive contact of cambium surfaces and a close fitting and tight graft-joint. It will be seen that in thus making a plurality of clefts and tongues there will usually be, according to the number formed and the diameter of the twig, one or more incomplete clefts by reason of the cut intersecting the circumference and one or more ouside tongues with the bark uncut and not necessarily having a thickness to enter a cleft, as they may not be required to so enter, but will lie on the outside. This, however, is merely incidental to the practice; but for this reason in the best practice of the process it will be necessary to form a sufficient number of clefts and tongues to materiallyincrease the numberand extent of contact-surfaces and to make a tight close lock. I therefore express this idea by the term plurality as applied to the number of such clefts and tongues. A plurality of cleftsis further distinguished by the result that stock and scion may be united in substantial alinement, making a neat joint, and without such exposed shoulders or corners as would follow a union by means of asingle cleft, which would result in throwing the two twigs materially to one side of each other; but the more vital essential of my method and graft-lock lies in the accurately-determined relative widths and thicknesses of the clefts and tongues in both twigs, enabling the Work to be done expeditiously and accurately by such instrumentalities as may be employed for the purpose and, moreover, forming the necessary close and tight lock, thereby distinguishing from the common cleft-grafting, in which a single cleft is made in the stock and a tongue is roughly whittled by hand from the scion and which results in a loose fit, requiring wrapping to hold the parts in contact and to prevent their displacement.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The process of grafting herein described, which consists first in making in both twigs, stock and scion, clefts all of equal width, separated by tongues all of equal thickness, the thickness of the tongues being slightlygreatgr than the width of the clefts whereby that In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JAMES BIRNEY BURRELL.

Witnesses:

RoBT. LOOSEMORE, Jr., H. H. MosER. 

